


The News

by silly_mortal



Category: Life Goes On (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:42:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29777022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silly_mortal/pseuds/silly_mortal
Summary: Libby's just given Jerry a piece of news.
Relationships: Libby Thacher/Jerry Berkson
Kudos: 5





	The News

-

“Are you comfortable like that?”

Libby looked up at him from the place where her head was resting against his shoulder.

“It probably doesn’t look like it, but I actually am,” she replied.

The two of them were in his desk chair, with Jerry sitting in it while holding the woman he loved securely in his arms. She was curled up in his lap, her legs thrown over an armrest of the chair, as she lay snuggled against him.

Except for the lamp on Jerry’s desk, the office was completely dark.

“I love it when you hold me,” she murmured.

“And I love holding you.”

They sat in silence for awhile, just listening to each other breathe, each thinking about the news she had just shared with him.

A piece of information that was going to change their lives forever.

“Do you know what I love most about you?” he suddenly asked.

“How many words I can type per minute?” she asked, innocently.

Jerry smirked.

“That’s impressive... but no.”

“That I can remember the combination to your safe, your luggage and the password to your computer, even though you can’t?”

“Again, one of your many talents, but no.”

“Then whatever could it _be_ , Jer?” 

“I love that you are the catalyst for everything good that has ever happened in my life.”

“ _Everything_ Jer?” she teased. “I don’t recall being there when you lost your virginity. I think I showed up for that about 20 years too late for that one.”

“Well, I’d have liked it if you would have been there for that one, but-”

“Alone or in addition to the other girl?”

“Hmm...” he said, as looked off, obviously picturing the scenario. “Ouch!”

Libby gently stroked the place where she had just pinched him. 

“You were taking too long to answer,” she stated, wrapping her arms around him.

“ _Anyway_ … I mean all the truly wonderful things, the things that make me so happy to be alive.”

“Like what?”

“Like being in love-”

“I wasn’t the first person you’ve been in love with, Jer. You’ve been married before.”

“I don’t know what _that_ was but, if this is love, that couldn’t have possibly been it... What I feel for you is beyond what I’ve ever felt for anyone else.”

“I feel the same way about you,” she murmured.

“So that and planning a future... becoming a father.”

Libby beamed at him, but didn’t say anything.

“We’re gonna have a baby,” he grinned, sliding his hand over her flat stomach.

“We are.”

“Why did you wait to tell me? Why didn’t you let me know as soon as you had an inkling you might be pregnant?”

She shrugged.

“I was afraid to disappoint you. It could have been a false alarm and I know how much you want this.”

“Sure I do, but I would have been there for you. You’re the most important thing in the world to me. I don’t want you to have to deal with everything on your own, when I’m right here.”

“I know... I just wanted to be sure before I got your hopes up. I mean, it could have been early menopause.”

“And I would go through that with you, as well.”

“You want to go through _menopause_ with me, Jer?” she asked, teasingly.

“Sure!” he nodded. “I want to be a part of everything to do with you. Anything you go through, I want to go through it, too. The hot flashes, the mood swings – everything. With the pregnancy, too. I want to be there every step of the way.”

“Jer-”

“I know I _can’t_ be… but I _want_ to. And every bit I can participate in, you’ll let me… right?”

“Of course I will.”

Jerry shook his head.

“I still can’t believe you got back to the office at 3:00 and just sat around all that time, without sayin’ a word. You stayed completely mum until everyone left the office. How did you manage it?”

“It wasn’t easy but I knew you’d get excited and probably pick me up and swing me around when I told you. I thought it was safer to wait until we were alone.”

“Oh… Well, I guess you know me too well. I’m sorry for swingin’ you around and makin’ you sick.”

“It’s ok, honey.”

“Why didn’t you just have me meet you at my place to tell me?” he asked, softly.

“I wanted to tell you here, where we first met, where we first got to know one another and became friends-”

“-where he or she was possibly conceived?” he leered.

Snickering, Libby shook her head.

“Possibly… but I’m going to choose to believe that our baby was conceived in love, in a _bed_ , rather than me bent over your desk.”

“That was still _love_ and you weren’t always bent over. I mean, sometimes you were on your back or on top. It might not have even been on the desk. It could have been on the couch over there or in this same chair that we’re in right now... Remember that time on the copier and I made all those copies of your-”

“Jerry!” she laughed.

“What?” he asked, trying to sound innocent. “That was _fantastic_. I’m still mad you wouldn’t let me hang one of the copies up on the break room bulletin board.”

“And I’m still mad that you even _considered_ that it might be a good idea… Do you know how much Windex it took to get that thing clean?”

“That _thing_? You mean your, uh…?”

“The _glass_ on the copier, Jerry… Jesus...”

“Oh… Well, anyway, I still have that stack of copies at home and I’m dying to frame one and put it on my nightstand, next to my side of the bed.”

“My God...” she murmured, shaking her head. “I’m in love with someone who has the sense of humor of a 12-year-old.”

“I’d say more 15-year-old, but why quibble over a few years,” was the teasing reply.

Libby stared at him, shaking her head.

“Anyway, back to our baby,” he said. “What do you think it is? A boy or a girl?”

“I have no idea, honey. It’s way too early to know.”

“Which do you prefer?”

“I don’t have a preference. I already have two girls and a boy, so all I want is a healthy baby... How about you?”

“Same,” he agreed. “Just healthy.”

Libby peered at him, searching his face for the truth.

“You don’t have a preference at all, Jer? Not for a little Jerry Jr?… Of course, I don’t think Drew would go for me calling him that.”

“A Jerry Jr would be nice,” he admitted. “Maybe he’d even want to go into business with me. I’d be so much more supportive than my dad was with me... Or maybe he’d end up wanting to be a performer, like you. I would absolutely love that too, Libs. I swear, I’ll be supportive in whatever he wants to do.”

“So, you _do_ want a boy.”

“Not necessarily. I’m just thinking of a boy because you said Jerry Jr… but when I think of the possibility of a watching a little Libby grow up - a little girl who looks just like you, with those big brown eyes… Well, that would just tear my heart up, in the best way ever.”

Jerry’s dark eyes involuntarily filled with tears. After removing his glasses, he used his fingers to attempt to swipe at the liquid that blurred his vision. A hand reached up and gently wiped a single tear that had avoided his efforts and was making at attempt at an escape down his cheek.

When he could see clearly again, he found himself starting into Libby’s warm brown eyes. Gently, she stroked his cheek. 

Smiling, Jerry pressed a gentle kiss to the ball of her thumb.

“What would you want to call her?” she asked, softly. “Our little girl.”

“Elizabeth,” he breathed.

“Oh,” she blinked, rapidly. “I don’t think Drew would go for that.”

“So what? This is _our_ baby.”

“Not as far as _he_ will know, Jer. He’s going to think it’s his and there’s no way he’s going to agree to a baby that’s named after _me_.”

“Oh, come on!” he groaned. “I would _love_ a little girl named after you... _Elizabeth_ … We wouldn’t call her Libby or Lizzy though, cause that’s too close you… We could call her _Ella_! Ella Berkson- er, Thacher.”

Libby smiled, softly.

“Ella is a sweet name. Maybe I could talk him into that... but he’d never go for Elizabeth.”

“That’s ridiculous – you’re her _mother_... Besides, isn’t Corky named after _him_?”

“Yes. Corky is Charles Andrew…. Drew is Andrew Charles.”

“Then you should be able to name your daughter after you.”

“ _Our_ daughter,” she repeated, smiling.

Jerry looked at her and smiled.

“Yeah, _ours_... I can’t wait to meet her, Libs. She’s going to be _perfect_.”

He gazed at her, drinking in the features of the woman he loved – those wide dark eyes, full lips and long, dark auburn hair that cascaded down her back. He imagined all of them on a small child. He’d seen photos of Libby as a child before and she was the prettiest little girl he had ever seen. He could picture their own daughter as being equally adorable.

Leaning down towards her, he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. When he pulled back, he found Libby smiling at him. She reached up and stroked his cheek, tenderly.

With the arm that wasn’t holding her to him, Jerry caressed her abdomen again.

“I can’t believe the most beautiful woman in the world is carrying my baby.”

Her eyes widened.

“She _is_?” Libby asked. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone other than me.”

“ _Mashugana_ ,” he smirked, shaking his head. “You know I mean _you_. You’re the most beautiful person in the whole world.”

“I’m not even the most beautiful person sitting in this chair,” she smiled, reaching up to touch his nose, lovingly.

Jerry blushed and dropped his eyes, embarrassed by her compliment.

“That’s how I know you’re crazy,” he said. “You are _perfect_ and I want our little girl to look just like her mama.”

“And what if it’s a boy?”

“Same thing. I hope he’s the spitting image of you. Every time I look at our kid, I want to see your face looking back at me.”

“They’ll have half your DNA, my love. There’s a good chance he’ll look just like his papa.”

“Let’s hope not, huh? Firstly, I don’t want you to have to go through the stress of Drew suspecting Baby Berkson isn’t his and, secondly, I don’t want some innocent kid cursed with my ugly mug when they can walk around with a face like yours.”

“Don’t be silly, Jerry. You are _beautiful_ … and I love you so very much,” she breathed.

“I love you, Libs.”

Jerry pressed a tender kiss to her lips, before pulling her even more closely to him.

“Libs?”

“Yes?”

“Is there any chance the baby is… _his_?”

Libby lifted her eyes to look at him.

“Not that it matters,” he said, quickly. “I would love any kid that’s yours equally as much as I would my own, but I’m just… curious.”

“No,” she stated, softly. “There’s no chance.”

“Oh… I mean, I know you try to avoid, um… _you know_ ,” he stammered, “with him as much as possible, but I also know it’s not always easy for you to get out of it.”

“He and I weren’t together around the time I would have conceived. Not at all.”

“Then how is he going to believe the baby is _his_? I mean, you know I think you’re an angel on Earth, Libs, but no one’s had an immaculate conception in about 2000 years.”

“Drew and I didn’t have sex, but he _thinks_ we did.”

Jerry gaped at her.

“How is that even possible? Uh, Libs, I know the guy’s a bit of a dullard, but... You know, you and I have had some quickies here and there but I’ve never thought we have when we haven’t. I mean, sweetie, your technique is pretty _memorable_.”

“Thank you very much,” she blushed. “That’s not what I mean, though… He had gone out with some friends and came home very late. And _very_ drunk... I don’t even know how he managed to get home. He wanted to and I didn’t-”

“He didn’t _force_ you… did he? Cause I will-”

“No, no. Nothing like that,” she shook her head. “He was in the mood and I had been sound asleep. He could hardly get a coherent sentence out but he kept trying. To be honest, I thought that, if I let him, he would leave me alone for awhile.”

“And?” Jerry asked, incertainly.

“And _nothing_... He tried but, once he got out of his clothes, he… _couldn’t_.”

“He couldn’t get it up?”

“You could put it that way… He was just too drunk. He passed out and that was that. Since he woke up naked, he thought we had done it. He made all these innuendos the next day and kept grabbing my ass, the way he always does the morning after and I just… didn’t correct him.” 

“And after that?”

“He hasn’t tried since then. The last time we did was almost five months ago and I’m only ten weeks along. So, there’s no chance at all.”

Libby heard him sigh in relief, though she could tell he was trying to suppress it. 

She could hardly blame him for being relieved. After all, this would be Jerry’s first child and, more-than-likely, his only child. It was going to be hard enough on him to watch another man raise the child that Jerry so desperately wanted but the possibility that said child wasn’t even his might be too much for him to bear. But Libby was certain, absolutely positive, that the child that was growing inside her body belonged to Jerry Berkson. 

She just hoped that Baby Berkson was as strong as his or her father and would be able to see their way through this pregnancy unharmed.

“How are you feeling?” Jerry asked, suddenly.

“Oh, fine... I’ve been a little nauseated the past few mornings, but nothing bad at all. It can hardly be called morning sickness.”

“That’s good... but I meant, in general. About the baby, being pregnant...”

Libby took a deep breath.

“Be honest with me, Libs,” he murmured softly, his lips brushing against her cheek. “You and I only work this well together because we’re always honest with each other. I don’t want us to have any secrets.”

Slowly, she released the breath she had been holding.

“Ok,” she sighed. “I’m scared... I’m deliriously happy, but I’m _scared_.”

“Of what, exactly?”

“Of being pregnant at my age… Of telling Drew and having to deal with his anger… Of having a perfect little version of you who I won’t be able to deny isn’t Drew’s… Of having another Down’s baby...”

“Well, as for your age, you only 40-”

“-almost 41-”

“-and you’re in perfect health… And why do you think Drew is going to be angry?”

“He doesn’t want anymore children – he didn’t even want Becca,” she looked at him.

Jerry gaped at her, incredulously.

“He said the family was perfect with just Paige and Corky,” she explained. “He said we already had a boy and a girl and that was enough... but _I_ didn’t have a boy and a girl. _He_ did.”

Libby looked at him, guiltily.

“I _love_ Paige, Jer. In my heart, she’s every bit as much my daughter as Becca is, but she isn’t mine... It’s not that she doesn’t look like me or isn’t my blood, it isn’t that at all... She was a tiny baby when I came into her life, just months old. She lived off-and-on with her mother until she was six, she didn’t live with us full time. She was only about eighteen months old when Corky was born and she and I were very close then... After the baby was born, she’d hear me or Drew talking to him saying ‘Mama’ this or ‘Mama’ that and she just picked it up. Once she started talking, she’d call Kathryn ‘Mommy’ and me ‘Mama Libby’… and that did _not_ go over well.”

“I can imagine.”

Lost in thought, Libby shook her head.

“Poor Paigey… She didn’t understand why her mother was so mad and why she wasn’t allowed to call me Mama anymore, while her brother was allowed. It became one of the bricks in the wall between us.”

“So, you wanted a little girl who _could_ call you ‘Mama’?”

“Yes, but also…”

Libby took another deep breath, before she continued speaking.

“I never told you this, but Drew was under the impression that Corky’s having Down’s was my fault-”

“But Down’s Syndrome isn’t anyone’s fault. You _know_ that.”

“I do _now_ but, at the time, I couldn’t help but wonder... I was a 20-year-old kid who had just had a baby. I didn’t know anything about anything… and Drew was right, you know – he’d already proven that he could have a child that was _perfect_. It was the only child he had with me that was… _different_. I guess I just wanted to prove that it wasn’t my fault and that I was capable of having a perfect child, as well.”

“So you got pregnant with Becca?”

“Yes... and Drew was furious. Once she was born and was absolutely perfect, he fell in love with her, but beforehand… He would tell me how stupid I was to risk having another child with Down’s and how, if there was anything wrong with her, it was all my fault and that I’d doomed her to a difficult life, the same way I’d done with Corky.”

“That sonofabitch,” Jerry muttered, unconsciously holding Libby closer to him and rubbing his cheek against hers. 

“When I got pregnant again, right after Becca, it was even worse... I didn’t mean to get pregnant then - it was a complete accident-”

As she looked at Jerry, pleadingly, as if she were begging him to believe what she said was true, he wondered how many times she had done the same thing with Drew… only to be rebuffed.

“-I was breastfeeding, so I couldn’t be on the pill. I was trying to add up the days and we were using protection, but sometimes we just… _forgot_.”

“That doesn’t sound like _your_ fault,” Jerry stated, plainly. 

“Drew was beside himself, when I told him... He said I was ruining our lives and future by having kid after kid. He told me that Becca being healthy was a fluke and that my _tainted_ genes were going to show themselves again in the baby I was carrying-”

Jerry sucked in air through his teeth, trying to keep his anger under control.

At that moment, he’d give anything to have Drew Thacher in front of him right now, so that he could beat him to a bloody pulp. 

The idea that anyone could be so cruel to his Libby - to injure her heart, which was so tender and gentle. It was only a monster who would do such a thing.

“-He said we couldn’t afford another child, much less another one with _problems_. He said that Corky was going to cost as much as three kids and so, by having him, I’d given up my right to have anymore children-”

“That motherf-”

“He said I had to get rid of it… The _baby_ ,” she stated, her voice breaking. “I couldn’t, though. I said I’d leave him and take the kids before I’d t-terminate the pregnancy… He finally accepted that we were going to have another, but he didn’t ease up. He kept _at me_ constantly and I just couldn’t take it. I was so _weak_ and constantly crying. Eventually, in my s-sixth month, I...”

Dropping her head against his chest, Libby began sobbing against his chest. Jerry pulled her as close as he possibly could without injuring her. 

“Oh baby…” he murmured, sadly. “My sweet girl… My precious love...” 

“He said it was _my_ f-fault that I lost the baby, that it happened because there was s-something wrong with it-”

“Libs, that _isn’t_ true. Sometimes these things just happen, sweetie. It’s no one’s fault.”

“But Jerry,” she stared at him, her eyes desperate. “What if it _is_ my fault that Corky ended up with a d-disability and that I lost that baby? And what if I lose _our_ b-baby? What if I _do_ have f-faulty genes?”

“Libby, listen to me-”

He used his finger to lift her chin, so that she was forced to focus on him. Her normally happy eyes were filled with despair.

“You do not have faulty genes… What happened with Corky was an abnormality. It happens to a lot of kids and, even so, he is _remarkable_ , Libs! Look at how much he’s accomplished! So much more than doctors ever said he would, right? And you have a beautiful, perfect daughter. _Those_ are the kinds of genes you have, Libby. Strong ones, wonderful ones… As for the miscarriage, who knows what happened there, but I’m sure that Drew putting constant pressure on a pregnant woman, who is already going through enough with a newborn baby, did not help… Losing that baby isn’t on _you_ , Libs. Don’t you ever blame yourself for that.”

“And _ours_ , Jer?” she asked, mournfully. “What if I lose _our_ baby?”

As she did for him earlier, Jerry tenderly brushed the tears from her face. He cupped her cheek and looked directly into her eyes.

“Libs… Nothing is going to happen to the baby. It’s going to be just fine.”

“But-”

“But if something were to happen, it would not be your fault. It would be nothing to do with you. It would just be nature.”

Without replying, she rested her head against his chest, against his heart. She laid there in his arms, as he held her and whispered soothing words in her ear.

“Jer...” she finally said.

“Yeah, honey?”

“How do _you_ feel about this?”

“Well… I don’t ever want you to be nervous or sad. I’m worried about you because I don’t want you to be stressed, of course, but...”

“But _what_? Please be honest with me.”

A huge grin crossed Jerry’s face.

“Oh my God, Libs, I am over the moon about it!” he breathed.

Libby smiled, against his chest.

“I thought you would be.”

“I am!” he insisted. “I’m ready to go out first thing tomorrow to start a college fund for him or her. I’m gonna call my insurance guy in the morning and have him come around, so I can start a new policy, just in case. I want one for you and one for the baby, in case anything ever happens to me.”

“Jerry-”

“I know you don’t like it when I talk about that stuff, but we’re havin’ a baby, so we gotta be practical, Libs…. Oh my God, we’re havin’ a _baby_!”

“You’re not going to pick me up and swing me around again, are you?” she teased. “I don’t think my stomach can take it again.”

“I’ll try and control myself but… I’m so excited at the prospect of being a father, Libs… Of us being _parents_ together. This is a dream come true for me.”

Libby looked at him, a broad smile on her face.

“It makes me so happy to see you so happy, Jer… I can’t wait to see you as a father, to see what you’re like with a baby.”

“Oh, I’m gonna be the best father you’ve ever seen, Libs. I’m gonna change every diaper I can – even the poopy ones! And I’m gonna rock’em to sleep, I’m gonna be the one to get up with’em at nigh-”

His words stopped, abruptly.

When his eyes met Libby’s, they exchanged a sad look.

Without uttering a word, they each knew what the other was thinking. 

They would not be raising their child together. Jerry would not be there to see their child born. He wouldn’t be the one getting up with the baby, when it cried at night. 

To everyone who knew them, the baby would belong to Libby and Drew… and Jerry would just be Libby’s boss. At the most, her friend.

Gently, Jerry pressed a solemn kiss to her forehead.

“It’s gonna be ok, Libs,” he reassured her. “We’re gonna find a way.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, sadly.

Suddenly, Jerry’s face lit up.

“Hey, why don’t we get out of here?” he suggested. “Let’s go somewhere and celebrate!”

Libby shook her head, in disappointment.

“I told the kids I’d be there by 8:00, so we only have about an hour before I have to head home.”

“Oh,” Jerry mumbled, disheartened. 

“But… we could still _celebrate_ , Jer.”

“How? An hour’s barely enough time to hit a drive-thru and eat in the car.”

“Well, we don’t have to _eat_...”

Libby returned Jerry’s look of confusion with a shy smile.

“I mean, we could always celebrate by doing the same thing that got us this unborn child of ours.”

Slowly, her smile broadened.

“Um, are you sure that’s what you want, Libs? I mean, after all that we’ve talked about tonight?”

The smile left her face and she nodded, slowly.

“I really need to feel you close right now, Jerry… unless you don’t want to.”

“Are you kidding? I _always_ want to, but we don’t have time to get to my place, do _that_ and still get you home in time.”

“There’s always here. The cleaning crew doesn’t show up until nine and it’s not like we haven’t put that couch to good use before,” she stated, with a wink.

Jerry glanced over at the black couch that sat on the other side of the room.

When he turned back to Libby, he saw her grinning at him and waggling her eyebrows.

“What do you say, _Papa_?” she asked

“I’ll race you there, Mama!”

-


End file.
